6 Cool Things You’ll Find in the Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation

The open house for the Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation is fast approaching on Sunday, May 17.

The MCLI is a technologically advanced learning environment where Memorial employees, medical residents and our physician and community-health partners will develop and strengthen their skills and knowledge. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the super cool stuff you’ll find in the 72,000-square-foot, four-story building.

An Animatronic Dog

You can find McLee, an animatronic dog, on the third floor in our 16,000-square-foot Simulation Center. His home is in our mock residence – equipped with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom – where emergency medical technicians, firefighters and nursing and therapy staff train. McLee barks and responds to commands, including “sit up and beg.”

Secret Chairs

Look through the building, and you’ll find almost a dozen of these curious contraptions that seem to be leaning against the walls. They’re actually fastened in place and are called Jump Seats. When you pull the front flap down, you’ll discover they’re actually chairs. You’ll discover lots of cool furniture in the MCLI. We worked with four local businesses to ensure we have the right functional furniture throughout the building.

Fly Catcher

Check out the history wall on the MCLI’s second floor for lots of cool info and objects from Memorial Health System’s history, dating back to 1897. Look for this doodad in a glass case. It’s a fly catcher. In the early 1900s, before window screens were a thing, these glass bottles were placed in surgery rooms. A water-and-honey mixture fills the bottle’s base. The sweet scent attracts flying insects that entered surgery through open windows. The sticky concoction traps the bugs. Yes, we’ve come a long way.

This Mannequin Gives Birth

You’ll find many patient simulators in our Simulation Center, including Noelle. This high-tech mannequin can simulate birth in seven different scenarios. Yeah, that’s right – seven. She can be programmed with different vital signs and birth scenarios to see how staff respond. Like all the other simulated patients in the Simulation Center, this mannequin gives our clinical staff hands-on experience to run different situations to help them better prepare for real-life encounters with our patients. And in case you’re wondering, her baby’s name is Hal.

Electronic Marker Boards

These large wall-mounted computer screens in several of our collaborative meeting rooms function like high-tech marker boards. You can select the color you want to use as you write your notes on the screen with the stylus. You can choose the picture option to send a photo of your work group’s notes to your computer.

Dole Whip

After you’ve explored the MCLI, wrap things up with a trip to Memorial’s Food For Thought Café on the first floor and order a Dole Whip. Once an exclusive at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, this soft-serve nondairy frozen treat is available in our café. They come in five flavors. Vanilla is available every day; the other four – pineapple, mango, orange and strawberry – rotate as the flavor of the week. And only 120 to 135 calories in a 6-ounce serving.

Check out the community open house for the Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation on Sunday, May 17. The doors open at 2 p.m. A brief ceremony and ribbon-cutting begin at 2:15 p.m. And you can tour the building from 2:30 to 5 p.m.